Asian shares rise amid US tax cut hopes

Global stock markets hit record highs on Monday on expectations that a US tax bill could soon pass, though a more cautious reading of the draft law's prospects among currency traders put the dollar under pressure.

Top US Republicans said on Sunday they expected Congress to pass the tax code overhaul this week.

Global stock markets have surged this year, in part on expectations of the reform, which is seen boosting corporate profits and triggering share buybacks and higher dividend payouts.

"There is very much a shift in the architecture in the European government bond market," said DZ Bank rates strategist Daniel Lenz.

In Asia, the Indian rupee fell as much as 1.1 per cent before reversing all its losses to trade up 0.07 per cent, as it became clear that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) would comfortably win an election in his home state of Gujarat.

Futures of soaring cryptocurrency bitcoin received a lukewarm reception at their launch on the CME Group exchange late on Sunday.